Children aged 6 – 12 years: Give one tablet twice a day.
Children under 6 years: Not recommended.
For the prevention and treatment of recurrent or long lasting infections
The recommended doses are:
Adults and children o ver 12 years: Take one tablet at night.
Children under 12 years: Your doctor will decide the right dose,
depending on the child’s weight.
Treatment may continue for 3 to 12 months or more if necessary.
PM00790102
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For the treatment of P n e u m o cy s t i s j i r o v e c i i l u n g i n f e c t i o n
Your doctor will decide the right dose, depending on your, or the child’s,
bodyweight.
The daily dose will be divided into two or more doses per day and
should be taken for two weeks.
F o r t h e p r e v e n t i o n o f P n e u m o cy s t i s j i r o v e c i i l u n g i n f e c t i o n
The standard dosage should be taken (see above) for the duration of the
period you are at risk of this infection.
If you have kidney problems your doctor may prescribe a smaller dose
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and take blood to test if the medicine is working properly. It is
important to finish your prescribed dose of this medicine. If you stop
taking this medicine too soon, your infection may come back.
If you take too man y Co-Trimoxazole Tablets
If you think you have taken too many tablets, contact your doctor
straight away or go to the nearest hospital casualty department. Take
with you any remaining tablets and the pack so that the medicine can
be identified.

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If you forget to take Co-Trimoxazole Tablets
If you forget to take a dose of this medicine, take it as soon as you
remember. However, if it is almost time for the next dose, skip the
missed dose and take the next dose at the usual time. DO NOT TAKE
TWO DOSES AT THE SAME TIME.

4. Possible side-effects

Like all medicines, Co-Trimoxazole Tablets can cause side-effects,
although not everybody gets them. Side-effects may be more severe if
you are taking high doses of these tablets to treat pneumocystis
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jirovecii pneumonia.
If any of the following occur STOP TA K I N G the tablets I M M E D I ATELY
and contact your doctor, as these may be signs of a very rare serious
allergic reaction (affects less than 1 in 10,000 people):
• sudden wheeziness or difficulty breathing
• swelling of the eyelids, face, lips or throat
• raised itchy, red lumps on the skin (hives) or skin rash
• potentially life-threatening skin rashes or blistering of the skin,
mouth, eyes or genitals (these may be signs of Stevens-Johnson
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syndrome or toxic epidermal necrolysis - see section 2).
If you notice any of the following effects tell your doctor straightaway:
• feeling weak or tired, looking pale, easier bruising, high temperature,
sore throat or frequent infections (these may be signs of a blood
disorder). Symptoms may be worse if you are elderly or you have liver or
kidney problems or low levels of folic acid
• fever, headache, stiff neck and back, feeling sick, skin rash, eyes
being very sensitive to bright light (these may be signs of aseptic
meningitis).
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The following other side-effects have been reported, if you do notice any of
these effects or any others not mentioned in this leaflet, please inform your
doctor or pharmacist.
Very common effects (that could happen to more than 1 in 10 people):
• abnormal heart rhythm (beat), which may be caused by high levels of
potassium in the blood. (This effect is more likely to occur if you are
elderly or taking a high dose of this medicine).
Common effects (that could happen to less than 1 in 10 people):
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• an infection called thrush or candidiasis which can affect your mouth
or vagina. It is caused by a fungus
• headache, feeling sick, diarrhoea.
Uncommon effects (that could happen to less than 1 in 100 people):
• being sick.
Very rare effects (that could happen to less than 1 in 10,000 people):
• convulsions, weakness, tingling, numbness, difficulty controlling
movements, joint and muscle pain
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• depression, hallucinations (seeing things that are not there), dizziness or
spinning sensation, ringing in the ears
• cough or shortness of breath
• increased skin sensitivity to sunlight
• low levels of sodium in the blood which may cause tiredness and
confusion, muscle twitching, fits or coma. (This effect is more likely to
occur if you are elderly or taking a high dose of this medicine)
• jaundice, inflammation of the liver, liver damage, changes in liver
function or an inflamed pancreas. Symptoms include yellowing of the
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skin and whites of the eyes, fever and severe stomach and back pain
• changes in blood tests
• low blood glucose levels which may cause weakness, dizziness and
disorientation
• colitis (inflammation that causes abdominal pain or diarrhoea)
• loss of appetite
• swollen or sore mouth or tongue, mouth ulcers
• difficulty passing urine, passing more or less urine than usual, blood or
cloudiness in your urine, change in electrolyte levels in the body, crystals
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in the urine or swollen kidneys causing kidney failure, fever or rash
• inflammation of the eye which causes pain and redness.
Reporting of side effects
If you get any side effects, talk to your doctor, pharmacist or nurse. This
includes any possible side effects not listed in this leaflet. You can also
report side effects directly via the Yellow Card Scheme at:
www.mhra.gov.uk/yellowcard. By reporting side effects you can help
provide more information on the safety of this medicine.

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5. How to store Co-Trimoxazole Tablets

KEEP ALL MEDICINES OUT OF THE SIGHT AND REACH OF CHILDREN.
Keep the tablets in the pack provided and protect from heat, light and
moisture.
Do not take the tablets if the expiry date on the pack has passed. If you
have any medicines that are out of date, return them to your pharmacist
for safe disposal.

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6. Further information

Ingredients
Each Co-trimoxazole tablet contains 80mg of trimethoprim and 400mg
sulfamethoxazole as the active ingredients. Also contains lactose, sodium
starch glycolate, magnesium stearate and pregelatinised maize starch.
What Co-Trimoxazole Tablets look like
The tablets are round and white with the company logo on one side
and a breakline and A286 on the other side. They are available in pack

(Trimethoprim 80mg & Sulfamethoxazole 400mg)
Please read all of this leaflet carefully before you start taking this
medicine.
Keep the leaflet; you may need to read it again.
If you have an y questions or are not sure about an ything, a s k y o u r
doctor or pharmacist. This medicine has been prescribed for you.
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Do not pass it on to others. It may harm them, even if their
symptoms are the same as yours.
I f a n y of the side effects get serious, or if you notice an y side
effects not listed in this leaflet, please tell your doctor or
pharmacist.
In this leaflet:
1. What Co-Trimoxazole Tablets are and what they are used for
2. Before you take Co-Trimoxazole Tablets
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3.
4.
5.
6.

How to take Co-Trimoxazole Tablets
Possible side effects
How to store Co-Trimoxazole Tablets
Further information

1. What Co-Trimoxazole Tablets are and what they are
used for
Co-trimoxazole belongs to a group of medicines called antibacterials.
These medicines work by killing bacteria. Co-trimoxazole is used for
the:
Page 4

Do not take these tablets if you:
• are allergic to trimethoprim, sulfamethoxazole or any of the other
ingredients in the tablets which are listed in section 6. (An allergic
reaction may be recognised as shortness of breath, blocked nose, rash,
itching, swollen face or lips)
• have severe kidney damage or disease
• have severe liver damage
• have a blood disorder
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• are pregnant (see “pregnancy and breast-feeding” section)
• are taking amiodarone or clozapine.
Check with your doctor before taking these tablets if you:
• suffer from a lack of folic acid in your body
• have mild to moderate liver or kidney damage or disease
• are underweight or malnourished
• suffer from glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase deficiency (G6PD)
• suffer from a severe allergy or bronchial asthma
• have porphyria
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• have a group A beta-haemolytic streptococci bacterial infection e.g.
scarlet fever
• have phenylketonuria (a genetic disorder of metabolism)
• are elderly
• have high levels of blood potassium.
• Potentially life-threatening skin rashes (Stevens-Johnson syndrome,
toxic epidermal necrolysis) have been reported with the use of Cotrimoxazole, appearing initially as reddish target-like spots or circular
patches often with central blisters on the trunk of the body.
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• Additional signs to look for include ulcers in the mouth, throat, nose,
genitals and conjunctivitis (red and swollen eyes).
• These potentially life-threatening skin rashes are often accompanied
by flu-like symptoms. The rash may progress to widespread blistering
or peeling of the skin.
• The highest risk for occurrence of serious skin reactions is within the
first weeks of treatment.
• If you develop a rash or these skin symptoms, stop taking Cotrimoxazole, seek urgent advice from a doctor and tell him that you are
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taking this medicine.
• If you have developed Stevens-Johnson syndrome or toxic epidermal
necrolysis with the use of Co-trimoxazole, you must not be re-started
on Co-trimoxazole at any time.
Taking other medicines
Check with your doctor or pharmacist before taking these tablets if you
are taking any other medicines especially:
• pyrimethamine in doses greater than 25mg per week (used for the

You must stop taking these tablets if a blood disorder develops
(symptoms of this are feeling weak or tired, looking pale, easier
bruising, high temperature, sore throat or frequent infections). Regular
blood tests may be performed by your doctor if you:
• are taking these tablets for a long time
• have low levels of folic acid in your body
• are elderly.
Drink plenty of fluid such as water while you are taking these tablets.

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P r e g n a n cy a n d b r e a s t - f e e d i n g
Do not take if you are pregnant. Check with your doctor before taking
this medicine if you are breast-feeding.
Driving and using machiner y
When you take these tablets you may get a headache, see things that
are not there, or feel dizzy. Do not drive or operate machinery if you
experience any of these effects.
mportant information about an ingredient of Co-Trimoxazole
Im
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Tablets:
Contains lactose. If you have been told by your doctor that you have an
intolerance to some sugars, contact your doctor before taking this
medicine.

your doctor’s instructions. The pharmacist’s label will also tell you how many
tablets to take and how often. If you do not understand anything, ask your
doctor or pharmacist.

3. How to take Co-Trimoxazole Tablets

The usual dosage(s) are:Standard dosage for treatment of infections:
A d u l t s a n d c h i l d r e n o ver 12 years:
Take two tablets twice a day, usually for 5 days. For more severe infections
your doctor may increase your dose to three tablets twice a day.

Swallow the tablets with a drink of water.
The dose will be different for different medical conditions and patients.
Your doctor has decided the dose which is best for you. Always follow

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Expiry Date:

PROOF 4
Batch No.:

M0187TB

Code: DD/DRUGS/DD/375

Job No.: 301142
Date: 21st October 2014
100%

Colour Reference:

Label Code M0187TB

■

■

Black

2425

Base Label:

30 x 100mm

Leaflet Page 1:

30 x 72mm

KEEP OUT OF THE SIGHT
AND REACH OF CHILDREN

Left Hand Opening

✓

Overall Leaflet Size:

30 x 998

Page Widths: 72 67

66

For oral administration as
directed by the doctor.
Also contains lactose (see
patient information leaflet for
further information).

Disclaimer: Every effort has been made to ensure that the information provided here is accurate, up-to-date and complete, but no guarantee is made to that effect. Drug information contained herein may be time sensitive. This information has been compiled for use by healthcare practitioners and consumers in the United States. The absence of a warning for a given drug or combination thereof in no way should be construed to indicate that the drug or combination is safe, effective or appropriate for any given patient. If you have questions about the substances you are taking, check with your doctor, nurse or pharmacist.